


Garak and the Cats

by axolotlparty



Category: Deep Dish Nine au - Fandom, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Genre: Cats, Cute, Deep Dish Nine, Fluff, Gen, M/M, pizzaverse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-16
Updated: 2014-03-16
Packaged: 2018-01-15 22:07:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 832
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1320895
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/axolotlparty/pseuds/axolotlparty
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>(Deep Dish 9 au) Garak is out feeding the neighborhood cats every morning. Miles "investigates".</p>
            </blockquote>





	Garak and the Cats

Miles shook his head as he came inside the family pizza joint with a large, broken letter “D” under his arm. Julian looked up from the notes he was studying.

“Every damn morning he’s out there…” the older man muttered under his breath.

“People tend to go out of their houses, Miles. Sometimes, if they’re lucky, they go someplace besides work.” Julian replied, not even looking up from his notes.

“Yeah, but he’s out feeding all the stray cats in the neighborhood. Those cats are perfectly capable of feeding themselves without any man’s help. They get dependent.”

“Stray and feral cats tend not to live very long out on the streets, and they’ve been dependent on human beings for as long as cats have been tamed. And a lot of the ferals around here have been neutered and released back from whence they came” Julian informed his friend.

“From whence they came,” Miles shook his head “You spend too much time with that boyfriend of yours. Tell me, does he let the poor widdle kitties in the tailor shop when it gets chilly outside?” Miles cooed.

Julian rolled his eyes. “I’ve never seen a cat inside his shop or in his house. I just think you want something more to dislike about him.”

“Study your notes, Julian. I’ve got a very large “D” to get up and working again.” Miles said.

They looked at each other as Miles’ last comment sank in and they snorted in laughter.

 ==============================================================================================================

 

Julian woke alone in the bed he had fallen asleep in with Garak. The sun danced from behind wispy clouds in its reflection on the mirror. It was then that Julian noticed he wasn’t naked. Or sore. At all.

_“Now_ this _is a first.”_ Thought Julian.

Julian smelled Cardassian hot fish juice and French toast coming from across the basement apartment. He decided one of those smells was worth getting out of bed for (guess which one).

 

“Miles has noticed something you do that some may consider odd.” Julian said, sitting on a stool at the table.

“Only one? I must be slipping. Forgive me, my dear doctor. French toast?” Garak offered.

Julian looked at the plate offered to him and wheezed out a laugh. He’d seen worse French toast prepared by professional chefs. He had cut the toast into little triangles and put a tiny dollop of Nutella on each one, along with the butter and powdered sugar.

“You don’t half-ass anything do you, Elim?” Julian said as he took the plate.

“I learned a great many things at my mother’s knee. Patience, perseverance, tailoring. Thankfully the first two taught me how to cook in her place.” Elim remembered fondly.

“So back on the subject of what Miles said, apparently you feed the cats that hang about the neighborhood. I’ve seen cats hang around the shop but-” Julian explained between forkfuls of his breakfast.

“That I do. People like the cats. They’re clean, they’re quiet, and I suppose they could do with a good meal. Though what’s really unbelievable here is that you never noticed the food and water dishes and the large bag of cat chow adjacent to the garbage can in here.” Garak said.

Julian grinned. “You godda shoft shpot for wil kideesh” He garbled with a mouthful of Nutella Toast.

“No one else seems to care for our neighborhood mouse-catchers. As loving and accepting as you Federation types claim to be, there seem to be an awful lot of gaps in what you’re willing to do for your community.” Garak replied.

“Fair point. But still, Miles is probably convinced that you’re raising a cat army to overthrow the city or something ridiculous like that.” Julian said.

“Who says I’m not?” Garak asked, lifting up more French toast from the griddle.

 ==============================================================================================================

Elim looked up and down the street for any sign of the local repairman. His timing had to be _absolutely perfect._

The cats were waiting patiently to be fed their daily meal from the colorful human. One even started to revolve around his leg and purr.

Garak saw the chief’s curly blond head coming around the block and immediately got to work. He poured out cat food for all his regular nonhuman customers and collected the small dead animals on his doorstep with an inside out plastic bag.

“Good work, my little _ratunka_.”

Hearing this stopped the chief dead in his tracks.

“Now you know the way to the nuclear reactor. You know the proper settings for our mission. Finish this and then finish the city. I’ll close up the shop and call Weyoun.” Garak ordered.

“Oh, good morning Chief O’Brien!” Garak spoke up.

“I…e-em…look I gotta…” he stammered.

“I understand, you have much work to do and a _very_ short day to do it all in. One could almost call your schedule _explosive._ ” Garak replied with a big smile.

Chief O’Brien took off to warn his co-workers who (much to his dismay) already knew about Garak’s little prank.

 

**Author's Note:**

> PLEASE NOTE that I neither encourage nor condone the feeding of stray and feral cats. I don't know much about this topic, I just thought it would make a cute fic.


End file.
